Skip to Content

10 Tips & Tricks to Save Money on Disney World Tickets!

cinderella's castle

After countless trips to Disney World over the past 30 years, I have acquired lots of tips and tricks for saving money on Disney World park tickets.

Disney park tickets are definitely expensive, but you’ll get incredible value from the money you spend because there is real bang for your buck in the parks.

Here are my top tips for how to save money on Disney tickets:

  1. Buy discount tickets
  2. Visit on the cheapest dates
  3. Don’t buy more ticket than you actually need
  4. Pay for your tickets with discount Disney gift cards (if applicable)
  5. Take your kids before they turn three
  6. Buy before the annual price increase
  7. Consider special event tickets for shorter trips
  8. Get a Park Hopper Plus if you want to visit a water park
  9. Take advantage of the best discounts (if you qualify)

I’ll explain each of these tips in detail below… read on to learn more!

1) Buy Discount Disney World Tickets!

disney gift cards

First, you clearly want to pay the lowest price possible for whatever Disney World ticket you buy. 

If you are buying your tickets separately and not as part of a Disney vacation package (such as a free dining package), then make sure you know the cheapest way to get Disney tickets online. 

In this detailed post on buying cheap Disney tickets, I break down exactly where to go for the best prices on Disney World tickets based on how long you are visiting. 

Here is a quick overview broken down by the number of days you want to visit:

And don’t worry – when you buy discount tickets online you will be able to link your tickets to your My Disney Experience account and make Lightning Lane reservations without any trouble!

2) Visit On The Cheapest Dates

In 2018 Disney World moved to a date-based ticket pricing system. Some days are now MUCH cheaper than others to visit.

A family of four will pay hundreds less to visit during the cheapest time of year compared to peak travel time. 

This is another attempt by Disney to distribute crowds evenly throughout the year. It can help you because if you are flexible with your travel dates, you can potentially save money on your park tickets!

You can get details on when is the cheapest time to go to Disney World in this post, but if you are looking for the rock-bottom cheapest dates to visit, here they are:

  • The last three weeks in January
  • The first week in February
  • End of August until the end of September

Get the specifics on the cheapest dates for Disney World tickets here. 

3) Don’t Buy More Ticket Than You Need

select number of days for park tickets image

A base ticket to Walt Disney World is called a “One Park Per Day” ticket. Just like it sounds, it lets you enter one park (and one park only) each day for a particular number of days.

You can also add the “Park Hopper” option to your ticket, which allows you to visit more than one park on a single day.  

I almost always recommend sticking with the One Park Per Day ticket as opposed to adding on any options if you are looking to save money.

Here’s why: adding the Park Hopper option to any 4-day or more ticket costs $80, but adding an additional day to a 4-day or more ticket costs $20.

goofy character gift card

So if you want an extra half day visit to the Magic Kingdom, just add one more day to your ticket and go for part of your arrival or departure day.

Your price difference will be $55 per ticket by doing this, which adds up to a savings of $220 for a family of four, and you will get just as much time in the parks.

4) Pay For Your Tickets With Discount Disney Gift Cards

disney gift cards

Since you can use Disney gift cards to purchase your park tickets from Disney, I suggest purchasing gift cards at a discount to save money on your park tickets. This works well if you are buying 1- or 2-day tickets since the best price is through Disney.

BJ’s Wholesale Club sells $100 Disney gift cards for $95 on their website. You can get a BJ’s membership to buy tickets at this price for only $10, which will pay for itself with two gift cards. This is a quick way to save 5% on Disney tickets and you can get all of the details on how to get discount Disney gift cards in this post

If you have a Target RedCard (debit or credit) you can save 5% on Disney gift cards when you buy them at Target. You just have to pay for the gift cards with your RedCard and the discount will apply at checkout!

You can read about this strategy in more detail in this post. A family of four would save about $100 on five-day tickets, so it can add up to substantial savings.

6) Take Your Kids Before They Turn Three

little girl meeting rapunzel

Our almost-three-year-old having the time of her life at Disney World

Tip #6 for how to save money on Disney World tickets is to take your kiddos BEFORE they turn three!

Being the world’s #1 family vacation destination, it is not surprising that Disney World caters to families with young children.

While many entertainment venues start charging admission when kids turn two years old (some even start when they turn one!), you can take your little ones to the Disney theme parks for free up until their third birthday. Many families take advantage of this policy and plan a trip right before their child turns three!

We did this ourselves and it was one of our favorite trips. You don’t have to show any proof of age when taking the little ones into the parks as Disney operates on the honor system.

So if you want to take your kiddo on his/her first trip to Disney World during the toddler or preschool years, I suggest doing so just prior to junior’s third birthday to save yourself a few hundred dollars.

7) Buy Tickets Before the Annual Price Increase

epcot springs to life

 As you could probably guess, ticket prices rise reliably each year.  In recent years, Disney hasn’t even waited a year before raising prices. If you know that you will be going to Disney, a money-saving tip is to buy tickets for an upcoming trip before ticket prices increase.

If you know you are taking a trip in November, yet ticket prices are going to rise in February, buy your tickets before the price increase to save anywhere from $5 to $25 per ticket.

Just subscribe to the newsletter for my Disney-only site, The Budget Mouse and I will be sure to let you know when ticket prices are going to increase!

8) Consider Special Event Tickets for Shorter Trips

mickey pumpkin in front of cinderella's castle in magic kingdom
Another tip for how to save money on Disney World tickets is to consider special event tickets.

One frustrating aspect of visiting the parks during a shorter trip is that 1-day and 2-day park tickets are so darn expensive per day. Prices don’t start to drop much below $100/day until you hit the 4-day and up mark.

Obviously, this is to encourage folks to make longer visits, but that’s just not possible for everyone.  

If you are planning a short trip anytime from September through December, you may want to consider buying a ticket for one of the special events held at the Magic Kingdom during those months.

mickey pumpkin wreath on a light pole in magic kingdom

On select evenings in September and October, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is held at the Magic Kingdom. It is a “hard-ticketed” event, which means you need a special ticket to enter the park.

Most main attractions are open, plus the party features parades, stage shows, character meet and greets, complimentary food and more.

The official time for the party is from 7 p.m. to midnight, though many folks don’t know that you can actually enter the Magic Kingdom any time after 4 pm with your special event ticket. (Check out my full post about the Halloween party here!)

So you can get a full eight hours in Magic Kingdom during the party (if you can hang until midnight) with much lower crowds than normal. Plus, with 1-day Magic Kingdom tickets now around $120 each, you’ll save close to $50 per person by visiting during the party. That would save you about $200 for a family of four!

In November and December Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, a similar hard-ticketed event takes place in the Magic Kingdom. Tickets to this popular event start at $99. 

These events are a great way to save on park admission if you are a frequent visitor, want to spend some time in the Magic Kingdom, and don’t want to cough up $120 for a 1-day pass.

9) Get a Park Hopper Plus If You Want To Visit A Water Park

disney water park

Photo Credit: Disney Parks

If you plan on visiting one of the two Disney World water parks during your visit and are getting park hopper tickets anyway, you will save quite a bit of money by upgrading to the “Park Hopper Plus” ticket. 

A ticket to a water park costs about $60 per person, but it only costs about $22 to upgrade your Park Hopper ticket to include multiple visits to the water parks. 

Plus, if you buy a 4-day Park Hopper Plus ticket you’ll get up to FOUR visits to the incredible Disney Word water parks, so you can check each one out if you’d like!

If you are already buying the Park Hopper tickets and have any interest in visiting the water parks, this is a great way to do it for little extra money. 

10) If You Qualify, Take Advantage of the Best Discounts

military discount at disney
The best discounts that Disney offers on park tickets are for Florida residents and members of the Armed Forces. If you are a Florida resident,
check out all of the discounts available here, which include discounted Magic Your Way base tickets through discounted annual passes.

If you are an active or retired member of our military, first of all, thank you for your service.

Second, you can get a fantastic discount on Disney World park tickets for yourself, your family or friends. Until 12/19/2016, military members can get up to six 4-day Park Hopper tickets for only $208 each (regularly $393).

You can read all of the details here. If you have a friend or family member who qualifies for the discount, let him/her know. They may be up for a trip and may be willing to get you some discounted tickets, too!

Well, I hope you found some helpful tips for how to save money on Disney World tickets in this post! Any questions? Please leave a comment below or join the discussion in my free private Facebook group!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Albion john

Friday 13th of January 2023

Wow! Very impressive and informative Artical . Thank you so much

John Mike

Tuesday 7th of July 2020

Well, you really did a great job of giving tips for saving money on Disney tickets. I like the gift card discount part very well. I have seen many websites online offering ways to get gift cards like people go on do some surveys, get points and in return to those points, they get gift cards. i will share if i find any website giving away disney gift cards for sure!

Neil Burge

Saturday 2nd of May 2020

Hi Leah, We are looking at visiting for the first time next year. 2 adults and 2 children aged 7 and 4. We are booking a 10 or 14 day trip with Tui after our 2020 holiday being cancelled so it will just be park tickets we will need . What would you suggest in terms of getting the the best deal in October time? Also, any tips for meals as the package will be a room only option I think. Thanks

Leah

Sunday 3rd of May 2020

Hi Neil! I love visiting Disney in October. I would suggest a few things. First, have our Disney travel agent Siera get a quote for you and advise you on the best deal. You can use this form: https://thebudgetmouse.com/get-a-free-disney-world-vacation-quote/

Here are my tips for getting the best deals on tickets: https://www.thefrugalsouth.com/cheapest-way-to-get-disney-tickets/

I have lots of tips for meals in this category on my Disney-only site: https://thebudgetmouse.com/category/dining/

Hope that helps!

Joan

Thursday 2nd of January 2020

If you don't have a BJ's Wholesale or Target RedCard, you can buy discounted Disney Gift Cards on Raise.com. Only about 1% discounted, but it's something.

David Norriss

Wednesday 30th of October 2019

I love the tip you gave about buying tickets during the cheapest ticket price time of the year. A lot of people probably don't know that Disney Wolrd shows what days they sell their tickets cheapest on. I am glad you shared this information on your article, thank you.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


Privacy Policy | Disclosure Policy | Contact Me